Rutenbar and Carley Presented With SRC Technical Excellence Award

Named as pioneers in the field of electronic design automation for analog/mixed-signal design by the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) faculty members Rob Rutenbar and L. Richard Carley were presented with the 2004 SRC Technical Excellence Award this month.

During their over twenty years of service with the SRC's research team, companies such as Texas Instruments and Cadence Design Systems have adopted their innovations to improve circuit production, according to William Joyner, an IBM assignee to the SRC.

Rutenbar, Jatras Professor of ECE; Professor of CS; Director, Center for Circuit & System Solutions (C2S2), and Carley, ST Microelectronics Professor of ECE, were nominated by John Cohn of IBM. Cohn referred to their partnership "as one of the most enduring and productive collaborations in the history of SRC funded research."

Dr. Cohn continued, "their work has set the groundwork for the entire emerging analog CAD industry," adding, "the collaboration has been so sweet and productive that it's tempting to think of Rob and Rick as the 'Ben and Jerry's' of Analog CAD."

Electrical Engineering Professor Mani Soma, who leads a technical program at the University of Washington and studies analog/mixed signals and test methods for radio frequency (RF) systems, shares the award with Carley and Rutenbar.

The $5,000 cash prize is divided equally each year among researchers who have made key contributions to technology that significantly enhance the productivity of the semiconductor industry. Award receipts demonstrate creative, consistent contributions to semiconductor research over a period of years, are ground breakers and leaders in their fields, and are regarded as model collaborators with their colleagues in the SRC.

Collectively, Rutenbar, Carley, and Soma have influenced nearly a generation of students who now are making a difference in semiconductor research, the SRC reported.